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June 26, 2020

Pipelines Here, There and Everywhere

Sooner or later a pipeline case had to arrive at the Supreme Court.  Last week the Court rules on the first high profile case.  The court ruled in favor of a 600-mile natural gas pipeline proposed to go under the Appalachian Trail in rural Virginia.  We wrote on the case in our blog on June 16, 2020.  The decision also removed a hurdle for another 300-mile pipeline and could prompt development on other ecologically important lands. The Supreme Court will now consider whether it will grant or deny review, or… read more

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Posted in Eleventh Amendment, Pipelines
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February 24, 2020

We Don’t Need No Stinking Appalachian Trail

          The 600-mile Atlantic coast pipeline is an 8-billion-dollar project.  The pipeline is cutting a scar across the Appalachian Mountains to move fracked natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia and North Carolina.           The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated a permit allowing the pipeline to cross the trail deep underground.           Stretching 2,192 miles from Main to Georgia, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail is the longest and most popular footpath in the world.           The Supreme Court held argument as to what will happen to… read more

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Posted in Appalachian Trail, Pipelines, Uncategorized
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November 26, 2019

PIPELINES RAISE CRITICAL AND WELL-FOUNDED CONCERNS.

          The Supreme Court has agreed to take up a dispute over a natural gas pipeline’s crossing of the Appalachian Trail.  Developers of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline fought a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that found that the Forest Service lacked the ability to authorize the project to run under the trial.  The joint owners, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy and Southern Company, stated, “We are confident in our arguments, and those of the Solicitor General, and are hopeful the Supreme Court will overturn the Fourth Circuit’s decision and… read more

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Posted in Appalachian Trail, Keystone Pipeline, Pipelines, Uncategorized
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October 8, 2019

SUPREME COURT DENIES REVIEW OF “QUICK TAKE” PIPELINE TAKING

          On October 1, 2019, the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari to review a landowners’ appeal from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Givens v Mountain Valley Pipeline.  The issue is the “quick take” process that grants the pipeline immediate access to property when a Federal Pipeline Certificate is issued.  The 303-mile pipeline would transmit Appalachian shale gas to Mid-Atlantic markets.  The landowners are then relegated to a trial for just compensation.            The Supreme Court decision in June in Knick v Township of Scott (see Bye Bye… read more

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Posted in Pipelines, Quick Take, Uncategorized
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October 3, 2019

ARE PIPELINES RUNNING OUT OF GAS?

          In an interesting article written by Phil McKenna in Inside Climate News, Mr. McKenna reports that recent federal court rulings could give states more authority to oppose natural gas pipeline projects.  As Trump tries to clear the way for more fossil fuel pipeline construction, a diverse coalition of environmental advocates and landowners are gaining traction in their efforts to fight new pipeline projects by focusing on property rights.           The article argues that a pipeline’s use for eminent domain is inappropriate.  As we know, eminent domain is an inherent… read more

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Posted in Natural Gas Act, Pipelines, Uncategorized
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